Aruba collaborates with Microsoft to advance cyberattack protection

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company announced the integration of Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager with Microsoft endpoint protection platforms to deliver significant advances in enterprise cyberattack protection. This integration allows ClearPass to control access to critical network resources based on endpoint security intelligence provided by Microsoft, reducing the risk posed by compromised network connections.

As a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association, an ecosystem of independent security software vendors that are dedicated to building integrated solutions to better defend against cyber threats, Aruba has completed integration, testing and verification of ClearPass Policy Manager with Microsoft Endpoint Manager, a unified management platform that includes Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune. ClearPass Policy Manager has also been integrated with Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), a unified endpoint security platform designed to help enterprises prevent, detect, investigate and respond to advanced threats.

Aruba has also collaborated with Microsoft to improve the efficiency and security of access control communications by developing a standardized approach to support multiple authentication methods and identity types in a single authentication request. The solution uses the Tunneled EAP (TEAP) protocol to combine both machine and user identities in a single request.

“Protecting enterprises against attacks requires a holistic approach to security based on an open approach to device and application protection,” said Michael Tennefoss, vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. “Aruba’s ClearPass provides policy management on network infrastructure from any vendor, while Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides secure, integrated management of devices and applications from any source. Operating in concert, ClearPass and Microsoft Endpoint Manager address endpoint security for a very broad range of IT, IoT, BYOD and operational technology (OT) devices and applications used in different vertical markets.”

Moti Gindi, CVP, Microsoft Threat Protection said: “Combining network access control with endpoint security, such as risk or exposure scores, yields synergies for both technologies, ensuring businesses that the right devices have access to the right network resources. This integration allows our joint customers to simplify their security infrastructure, and enables both solutions to provide higher levels of security.”

ClearPass Policy Manager leverages device-level context from Microsoft Endpoint Manager and Microsoft Defender ATP to establish, implement and enforce policies for network and application level access, including distributed SD-WAN locations. ClearPass enforces a Zero Trust environment whereby IT, IoT and OT devices are blocked from accessing the network until their identities have been verified. ClearPass provides granular access control decisions based on endpoint security and compliance posture from Microsoft Endpoint Manager and Microsoft Defender ATP.

“With the rise in virtual classrooms and increased use of collaboration learning tools, security is paramount especially when it comes to protecting students, faculty and staff,” said David Boos, director of Technology at Mitchell Technical Institute. “Integrating ClearPass with Microsoft Endpoint Manager suite was a game-changer for us in terms of simplicity and enabling us to gain greater insight into our wireless network.”